HILIGAYNON Language spoke by ILONGGO people

#ilonggo #Hiligaynon #Language The Hiligaynon language, also often referred to by most of its speakers simply as Ilonggo, is an Austronesian regional language spoken in the Philippines by about 9.1 million people, mainly in Western Visayas and Soccsksargen, most of whom belong to the Visayan ethnic group, mainly the Hiligaynons.[4] It is the second-most widely spoken language and a member of the so-named Visayan language family and is more distantly related to other Philippine languages. Hiligaynon is mainly concentrated in the regions of Western Visayas (Iloilo, Capiz, Guimaras, and Negros Occidental), as well as in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and North Cotabato in SOCCSKSARGEN. It is also spoken in other neighboring provinces, such as Antique and Aklan (also in Western Visayas), Negros Oriental in Central Visayas, Masbate in Bicol Region, Romblon and Palawan in MIMAROPA. It is also spoken as a second language by Kinaray-a speakers in Antique, Aklanon/Malaynon speakers in Aklan, Capiznon speakers in Capiz and Cebuano speakers in Negros Oriental.[5] There are approximately 9,300,000 people in and out of the Philippines who are native speakers of Hiligaynon and an additional 5,000,000 capable of speaking it with a substantial degree of proficiency.[2]